(UNDATED) – Trees can add beauty to your home and shade to boost your energy efficiency. But trees planted too close to power lines can grow into big problems and be expensive to maintain.
Duke Energy recognizes trees are a vital part of a healthy and vibrant community, providing ecological, aesthetic and economic benefits. But trees can grow into power lines and create hazardous conditions and cause power outages.
To provide you with safe, reliable service, Duke Energy maintain trees and other vegetation along power lines. You can do your part to help keep trees healthy and prevent power outages by planting the right tree in the right place.
When planting within 20 feet of an overhead power line, you should choose large shrubs or small trees that grow no more than 15 feet. Trees planted 20 to 50 feet from a power line should grow no more than 40 feet tall. And trees that grow more than 40 feet should be planted more than 50 feet from power lines.
To provide reliable service, it’s important we maintain trees and other vegetation along the lines that deliver electricity to our customers. Unfortunately, many trees are planted within or too close to utility line rights of way and later must be cut down or severely pruned to provide required clearance for reliability.
Before putting that shovel in the ground, call 811 several business days ahead to locate underground utility lines. The service is free.
